


All I want (for Christmas) is you

by Ambros



Series: Tumblr Prompts II [3]
Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Barista Alec Lightwood, Flirting, Fluff, M/M, Magnus is lactose intolerant, Originally Posted on Tumblr, SO MUCH FLUFF, Strong opinions about coffee, Tumblr Prompt, only fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-26
Updated: 2017-11-26
Packaged: 2019-02-06 21:57:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,604
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12826953
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ambros/pseuds/Ambros
Summary: So he's a bit of a pain in the ass when it comes to his coffee, so what. He's allowed. It's coffee. He's single. Somethinghasto cuddle him in the morning.





	All I want (for Christmas) is you

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you to the lovely, lovely anon who prompted "I hate to prompt something (I've seen that you have a million prompts already) but what about a coffee shop!AU where Magnus always asks for almond milk (bc he's lactose intolerant or pretends to be) and they only have lactose free milk so he just drinks it with that and then one day the cute barista Alec hands him his coffee and it tastes different and he asks and Alec's like 'Well you always ask for it so I... kinda bought it with my own money for you?' I'd actually die. <3"  
> I hope you like this even though it's not exactly what you asked :) Let me know!

“ _You_ tell him because _you_ broke the damn thing!”

“Don't you dare try and put this on _me,_ it's been _years_ since I touched it!”

“I don't think either of you needs to tell him,” Ragnor comments from where he's sitting, a fuming cup of tea in his hands; he tilts his head towards the hallway, and both Raphael and Catarina turn with horrified expressions to find a shocked Magnus staring at them.

They both point at each other at the same time. Catarina tries to bat Raphael's index finger away and he retaliates by pinching her side.

Magnus blinks, looking at the coffee machine behind them.

“I think you broke him too,” Ragnor comments; he looks like he's enjoying himself way too much, safe in his deep hatred towards coffee. He crosses his legs and sinks a little bit deeper in his armchair.

“Tell me you didn't,” Magnus whines, his arms outstretched as he crosses the kitchen in two strides; Catarina and Raphael take a step back and watch him carefully as he assesses the damage.

“We're really sorry,” Catarina says, ignoring Raphael's _I didn't do anything_ outraged flailing, “We're not sure what happened.”

Magnus tries to press a button and the coffee machine sprays his face with watered coffee.

He looks murderous when he turns to Catarina and Raphael, coffee dripping from his chin: “I will scream at you two when I get back,” he guarantees, and both Catarina and Raphael have the decency to look a little bit afraid.

“I'll be here to enjoy,” Ragnor says with a smirk, bringing his mug closer to his lips to take a sip; Raphael throws a cookie at him.

*

It's not even about the _coffee_. Magnus taps impatiently on the strap of his shoulder bag. Coffee, he can find anywhere. It doesn't even have to be _good_ coffee. He just needs the kick of it. He could drink Starbucks' overpriced burned coffee, for all it matters.

Except that no, he can't, he refuses to, he won't drink Starbucks' stupid, overpriced coffee because he has _morals_ , but that's not the point.

The point is, he stopped taking sugar with his coffee a long time ago, and it took him _ages_ to manage it – he used to need at least four sugar packets in his coffee until he'd put his foot down because he was basically drinking sugar with a little bit of coffee in it.

“What can I get you?”

Magnus' gaze snaps up and he has a moment of emotional backlash from where he was mourning the loss of his perfect morning coffee to where he's now staring at an _incredibly hot_ barista. He blinks. His karma must be repaying him for the coffee machine.

Some sort of cheesy variation of the sentence _are you on the menu?_ crosses his coffee deprived mind, but thankfully, _thankfully_ he bites his tongue and silently blames all the years he's lived with Ragnor. “Do you happen to have almond milk?” he asks, and that's, yes, that's the point, or, at least, it was the point before – he checks his name-tag – _Alec_ interrupted him with his being an incredibly hot barista.

There is no way in hell he's going to drink black coffee. Black coffee is not an acquired taste, it's an insult to people with functioning taste-buds. _But_ he can't have regular milk in his coffee, because he's lactose intolerant. And lactose free milk tastes like watered milk. Almond milk, on the other hand, is pure deliciousness.

So he's a bit of a pain in the ass when it comes to his coffee, so what. He's allowed. It's coffee. He's single. Something _has_ to cuddle him in the morning.

“Almond milk?” Alec asks, a little frown between his eyebrows, “I'm afraid not. Sorry.”

He looks genuinely sorry too, which only lifts Magnus' spirit so far. He sighs. “A black coffee with lactose free milk, then, please.”

Alec rings him up, sneaking a quick glance at him; he passes the order to the stunning black haired girl – being gorgeous is probably a requirement for being hired in this place – and then he hesitates for a second before he grabs a chocolate chip cookie and wraps it up: “On the house,” he says. There might be a slow blush working its way up his neck. The girl coughs loudly and Alec rolls his eyes. “Sorry about the almond milk.”

The cookie is still warm, just so that it won't crumble in his fingers. Suddenly, his day sucks a lot less. He smiles at Alec, a face-splitting grin he'll be embarrassed about later. “Thanks,” he says, and a smile curls Alec's lips too as he looks a bit bashful, the blush reaching his cheeks and painting them a lovely shade of red.

The girl clears her throat, the cup of coffee ready in her hand; she is looking at them like she can read their minds and is awfully amused by what she finds. “There you go,” she says, letting the cup of coffee slide on the counter towards Magnus; she leans on Alec, her manicured nails tapping his shoulder, “Nameless person.”

Alec turns crimson and bats her hand away, and Magnus realises that, yeah, Alec forgot to ask for his name and they're probably holding up the queue since he hasn't moved on from the register.

On his cup are scribbled the words _nameless person_. He grabs it and quickly, kind of breathless, he says: “Magnus. My name's Magnus.”, as he walks backwards, exchanging a quick glance with Alec, mixed with a small, hesitant smile.

“See you later, Magnus!” the girl calls, and Magnus sees Alec pinching her before he turns and walks out, a huge, stupid grin on his face.

*

He doesn't yell at anyone when he goes home.

Catarina and Raphael are clearly expecting it, they already have their best puppy eyes on, but Magnus hums a little Christmas tune as he goes into his room and then to the bathroom to take a shower.

Ragnor mutters: “It's bloody September.”

*

He goes back the next day.

Raphael and Catarina have already sworn left and right that they'll replace the coffee machine as soon as possible and Magnus has simply replied _don't worry about it._ They'd all looked at him like he'd lost his mind.

But they don't know that there's a hot barista named Alec waiting for him – or, well, probably _not_ waiting for him, but still – and that coffee is now his second priority.

He's kind of giddy as he walks in the coffee shop, and his eyes immediately land on Alec, who's working behind the counter; his heart does not, _does not_ thump weirdly in his chest when he finds Alec looking back at him for a moment only before he goes back to his client, half a smile on his face as he looks down.

Damn coffee is going to ruin Magnus' life.

The black haired girl grins as soon as she spots him and elbows Alec in the ribs; Alec blushes and whispers something at her. She laughs and she shakes her head, disappearing in the kitchen when Magnus reaches the counter.

“Hi,” he says, kind of breathless with expectations; Alec smiles, brushes the small apron tied around his waist with his hands: “Hey,” he says; his dark hair falls on his forehead, “I got – something”. He crouches down behind the counter for a couple of seconds and re-emerges proudly holding a carton of almond milk, and Magnus is this close, _this close_ to jumping over the counter to kiss him.

“You bought almond milk,” he says; he's biting his lower lip because if he smiles any harder his face is probably going to fall off.

Alec shrugs, places the carton on the counter: “I thought it'd be a smart business move, you know. Just in case more people come in and ask for it.”

“Of course, sure,” Magnus says; Alec's eyes are crinkled by his smile. “Makes perfect sense. I can imagine how many people came in asking for almond milk.”

“One,” Alec nods, and Magnus chuckles, finds Alec's bright eyes on himself, “But, you know,” Alec blushes, a pretty pink sitting on his cheeks, “Might be worth it.”

“No offence,” the black haired girl says, grabbing the milk to make Magnus' cup of coffee, “But you two flirt way too slowly to be doing it in a coffee shop.”

They both chuckle and the girl rolls her eyes, turning to get busy with the coffee machine; Alec grabs an empty cup and scribbles something on it with a black marker, handing it out to Magnus as he bites his lower lip. “My number.”

The girl returns with the cup of coffee, the same identical number written on hers too. “Oh,” she says, noticing the empty cup Magnus is holding. Alec glares at her and she simply shrugs, holding out the coffee for Magnus. “At least I remembered to put coffee in it, too.”

Alec whispers: “I hate you.” and the girl snickers before disappearing in the kitchen again; Magnus slides his full cup in his empty cup: “If I call you in, let's say, three minutes, are there any chances that you'll pick up?”

“Three minutes? That's exactly when I was thinking I'd take my break.”

“In that case,” Magnus says, taking a couple of steps backwards, “I'll hear from you soon.”

They're both smiling like idiots when Alec says: “Definitely.” and Magnus turns, almond milk coffee in one hand and his phone in the other.

He texts Catarina and Raphael before he calls Alec.

_Thanks for breaking the coffee machine._


End file.
